water usage

naughtyneighbour

Hi all...I have a peugeot 406 diesel P reg and seem to be using a lot of water. The radiator light comes on I put around 1 litre of water in then all is well till around 10-14 days later when the light comes on again:mad:. No obv leaks

Is this normal?

thanks

NN

Inactive

Putting " water " in at this time of year is a recipe for disaster.;)

boyse7en

Don't just add water. Use a mix of water and antifreeze (whatever ratio it says on the side of the antifreeze bottle). If you keep diluting the antifreeze already in the car you risk the cooling system freezing if the weather gets cold again. And even if it doesn't get cold you run the risk of internal corrosion in the engine.

Reasons for loss of water are either you have a leak, or the head gasket is gone.

If it is the head gasket you should see some or all of the following:- White smoke from the exhaust. Mayonnaise-like substance on the underneath of the oil filler cap. Oil in the water header tank. You may also see bubbles forming in the header tank if you take the cap off while the engine is running (don't do this when the engine is hot!)

If it is a leak, it will either be the seal on the water pump, a split hose, a leaking radiator or a leak in the heater matrix (a small radiator that provides the heat inside the cabin). Only way to find these is to look for water dripping from under the car and try to follow it back to the source - not always an easy task.

naughtyneighbour

Hi all and thanks for the replies

When I said I was putting water in I did mean anti-freeze too sorry

No white smoke from exhaust
No mayo like stuff in oil
No oil in header tank
Heater still works fine in car and car does not over heat at all both of which happend in my last car (Rover) when the head gasket went on that so I'm hoping its not the head gasket (fingers crossed)

I'm thinking then that it is a small leak altho its hard to check as the ground is wet from all the rain/snow. Would it do any harm if I put some radweld type stuff in?

Thanks again
NN

rev_henry

I was going to suggest Radweld. Don't see why it would harm it, that's what its meant for isn't it?

DaveMacD

How old is the radiator? My old R reg 406 radiator let go after nearly 10 years. But there was nothing obviously wrong apart form some of the fins rotting away. Replacement wasn't that expensive from Euro Car Parts, but the bottom hose assembly had to come from Pug, and that was nearly half the price again....

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Look for steam exiting a pipe on a cold day. Even a pinprick leak can lose a litre or two a week.

petrolhead69

get a cheap uv led torch off ebay, and shine it under the bonnet in the dark and leaks should fluroesce, depending on your antifreeze, or you can add a uv dye.
if its the xud engine they are known for headgaskets. my citroen van was slowly losing water from the headgasket but only slightly so there were none of the usual other headgasket symptoms. a skim and gasket fixed it.